


The New Shopkeeper

by rhodrymavelyne



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, X -エックス- | X/1999, xxxHoLic
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 01:10:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4159938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodrymavelyne/pseuds/rhodrymavelyne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fuuma goes to see the new shopkeeper, to make certain that his old agreement with Yuuko-san remains intact, and the power of Kamui will remain safely contained.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The New Shopkeeper

**Author's Note:**

> 'X' has been on hold for so long. ;_; This was an attempt of mine, by using the 'Tsubasa' and 'xxxholic' universes to explain why events might be on hold, as well as why there are huge differences in the CLAMP multi-universe. After all, Syaoran can't be the only one screwing up the universe with his wish. ;)

"You must be the new shopkeeper," I purred. I hadn't meant to purr, but something about pale, slender boys bring out the pervert in me.

He didn't seem upset. In fact, he smiled, a sly, cat-like grin that was very much like Clow Reed or Eriol. Or for that matter, Yuuko-san. If Kimihirou Watanuki could smile at me like that, he could handle perverts. I might as well be myself with him.

"The Juurogumo was right," I said. My own smile broadened, turning predatory. "You look positively edible."

Watanuki didn't seem bothered by the comment, but the large, young man standing next to him was. He moved, so he was standing between the shopkeeper and me. His glare made his eyebrows come together.

"My apologies. Doumeki-san, isn't it?" I winked at Watanuki's champion. I could emphasize, completely. If someone had made a comment like that to Kamui, I'd be glaring, too. In fact, I'd do more than glare. A smile tugged at my mouth, as I remembered the first time I'd met Seishirou-niisan. He hadn't been my brother at the time, just some creepy pervert who'd trapped Kamui and Kotori in an illusion. This had been before the very fabric of reality changed, thanks to everyone's wishes. 

Not many people remember the time before, but I'm cursed to remember everything. It's part of the price I pay to make my beloved happy. 

"Fuuma," Watanuki said. The slight smile on his pretty face suited him better than it had Clow Reed, or Yuuko-san. I'm such a sucker for pale, slender boys. It always lands me in serious trouble. "You're one of the only ones who can remember Yuuko-san."

"Don't get me wrong. I'm still a greenhorn, when it comes to this place, even if it was created with the power of Kamui," I said, smiling at the pretty shopkeeper. "It's part of the price I'm still paying, to remember." I really didn't want to dwell on the details, so I let my smile broaden.

"If you're in pain, smile." This was the first lesson Seishirou-niisan had taught me. "If you feel nothing, smile." This had been the second lesson, although it was more for my brother's benefit than mine. "If you meet a pretty boy, smile." This had been the third lesson, although there had been no need to teach it to me.

"I know," Watanuki said. He laid a hand gently upon his champion's arm. "Since I am now the shopkeeper, I now have custody of the power, which once belonged to Kamui. I had plans of my own for this power, but I am obligated to speak to you about your destiny and your wish."

Of course he was. I felt the smile freeze upon my face, as I looked up into his eyes. "Speak away."

"Do you wish to continue the arrangement you had with Yuuko-san?" Watanuki asked. The glasses hid some of the expression in his eyes. Glasses are tricky that way, as I've found with my brother. "Or has your wish changed?"

For a moment, I could see the ruined desert, the pile of bodies, and the renewed earth, covering a former civilization with green. I could see Hinoto, as she'd been, the eternal childlike dreamer, blind and trapped in her own shrine. I saw my own hands around the throat of her sister, as I throttled Kanoe. Even as I choked her life out, she'd wished for her sister's freedom from her destiny as a dreamseer. 

The changes had freed Hinoto from her destiny, but she wasn't free. Instead, she and Kanoe had become the playthings of Fei Wang Reed. Not that I really cared, as I would have been obliged to care as 'Kamui'. I no longer had to worry about Hinoto and Kanoe's wishes. There were others I cared for more.

I thought of Yuuto, hiding what was left of his soul behind a smile. Not that he'd changed much. Perhaps he'd be kinder, now that he was free of his destiny as a Dragon of Earth. There was no malice in Yuuto, but not much loyalty, either. He'd serve Kamui as soon as he'd serve me, just going with the flow. Karen, on the other hand, had been freed of her dark, abusive past, which she'd hidden behind a smile of her own. Every version I'd met of her had been happier. The same was true of Kusanagi. The conflict of choosing between the earth and humans no longer tormented him. Satsuki was the same as she'd always been. Not being a Dragon of Earth hadn't changed her at all. On the other hand, Sora-chan and Arashi had been rescued from fate, by the containment of Kamui. The two of them could live happily ever after, again and again.

As for the ones I truly cared about; Kotori, Kakyou, Seishirou, and Subaru, our entire world had changed. I had yet to find my sister on another world, not that I was looking. Her wishes could be gentler things, if Kamui and I weren't in her life. Any version of Kakyou had a tendency to get into trouble, although rescuing him was always fun. As for Seishirou and his exquisite Subaru, well, destiny had driven them apart, but neither of them had died. Thanks to the twisted nature of their wishes, both of them had become immortal. It was enough to make me laugh, except that the person I cared about the most was caught up in their wishes.

With the force of a blow, or tears I couldn't stop, I visualized Kamui's lovely face, his violet eyes meeting mine. "Fuuma..."

The world we lived in was the result of his wish. I didn't give a damn about Fei Wang Reed, or the fate of the world. Kamui was my world. If he wanted destiny to end, if he couldn't bear having 'Fuuma' be his twin star, I'd do what I could to make him happy. Even if it meant putting destiny on hold. Even if it meant he'd never remember the bond we once shared, while I remembered every second. Even if part of me still longed to grab him, crush him against me, smother him with my body, just to keep him with me. I was no longer ruled by my sadism, even if the impulses were still within me. Even if the loss of Kamui hurt like a gaping wound that bled every time I thought of him. 

"My wish hasn't changed," I said. I looked up at Watanuki, standing with his hand upon Doumeki's arm. For a moment, he looked like Kamui, standing there with his hand upon my arm. Reflections of the past never leave me, especially in this place. "More importantly, neither has Kamui's."

Doumeki's expression had softened. He looked at me with a gleam of what might have been pity in his eyes, or perhaps sympathy.

"To serve someone else is a heavy burden," Watanuki said. He glanced at Doumeki as he spoke. "Are you certain you want to spend the rest of your life doing this?"

"Watanuki-san, Kamui is my life, even if he no longer realizes it." I could no longer hide the sadness in my voice, even though I forced myself to keep smiling. "My part in the tragic drama of the world's end is over."

"Very well," Watanuki said. His own smile disappeared, as he raised a hand to his glasses, as if to adjust them. I'm certain he doesn't need them, any more than Seishirou does. "I have more jobs for you, extremely dangerous jobs. Are you up for them, Monou-san?"

"I'm up for anything," I said, giving Watanuki a roguish look. I meant every word. My life as a hunter isn't a bad one. There's lots of danger, treasures to uncover, and pale, slender boys on different worlds to make the acquaintance of. It's not a bad life for someone, who was meant to destroy humanity, as long as I don't dwell on the fact that Kamui isn't with me. I try not to dwell on it. I really do.


End file.
